☕ Can coffee help reduce the risk of cognitive decline?

Coffee is one of the world’s most popular beverages and a significant source of bioactive compounds.

The amount of coffee consumption has been linked to lower risk of neurodegenerative diseases, like dementia.

However, past studies didn’t consider differences between coffee types, such as sweetened, versus unsweetened.

A new prospective study in the UK wanted to understand what type of coffee has the protective effects against neurodegenerative diseases.

Those with the highest intake of unsweetened and caffeinated coffee (≥ 3 cups/day) had

⁃ 25% lower risk of Alzheimer’s and dementia

⁃ 29% lower risk of Parkinson

⁃ 33% lower risk of neurodegenerative-related death

However, no significant benefits were seen with either decaffeinated or coffee sweetened with sugar or artificially sweetener.

The full mechanism behind this is not yet known.

However, caffeine has been shown to improve memory and cognitive function and may help prevent neurodegenerative diseases through its neuroprotective effects, such as the reduction of protein plague formation in the brain and oxidative stress.

Less is known about the other bioactive compounds in coffee.

Sugar, on the other hand, can lead to metabolic disturbances, oxidative stress and inflammation, which are all risk factors for neurodegenerative conditions, when consumed in high amount. It is possible that sugar counteracts the beneficial effects of caffeine.

🥊 Punchline

If you drink coffee to reduce the risk of neurodegenerative diseases, like dementia, you may want to have it black and without sugar or sweeteners.

🧁 How to identify hidden sources of fat and sugar in your diet

It is no secret that certain foods or ingredients can contain hidden sources of fat and sugars.

A new study wanted to make a list of ‘hidden’ sources of fat and sugars to help you make better food choices.

‘Hidden’ because not easy to spot on the food label because of technical terminology (e.g. dextrose, inverted syrup), and often found in unexpected foods.

For example, condiments like ketchup, mayonnaise and stock cubes can be sources of ‘hidden’ sugars. Although minor, these can compound across the day or week.

Categories contributing the most to saturated fat intake include cold cuts, cream substitutes, fried potatoes and whole milk.

Categories with added sugar include tomato-based condiments, stock, cereal bars, energy drinks and yeast breads.

Generally, containing ‘hidden’ sugars or fats doesn't make foods poor choices. Rather it's important to be aware of how these may be contributing to your total sugar and fat intake.

🥊 Punchline

Hidden sugars and fat can be found in most ultra processed foods and ingredients. This is what makes many adults unknowingly overdo it in their daily diet. If you are trying to reduce sugar and fat intake, always read the nutritional labels to see where these hidden sources are.

🍳 Exposure to common chemicals early in life can disrupts our gut microbiome

We are exposed to chemicals across our lives, from dish soap to air fresheners.

A new study in mice found that early life exposure to ‘forever pollutants’ can disrupt gut health and influence the development of metabolic disorders later in life.

This could contribute to the incidence of metabolic disorders, including obesity and type 2 diabetes among adults.

‘Forever pollutants’ are those chemicals that are hard to break down or excrete, and accumulates in our body.

The researchers focused on 2,3,7,8-tetrachlorodibenzofuran (TCDF), a widespread ‘forever pollutant’ that is a byproduct of waste incineration, metal production, and fossil-fuel and wood combustion. TCDF accumulates in the food chain, and humans are primarily exposed through consumption of high-fat foods, such as meat, dairy products and some fish.

Mice with early life exposure to TCDF had permanent changes in their gut bacteria, but also had higher body weight and blood sugar intolerance.

The gut microbiome changes were marked by a decrease in certain bacterial species, including Akkermansia muciniphila, a bacterium that is typically found in the human gut microbiome.

Furthermore, administering the bacterium as a probiotic to TCDF-treated mice restored their microbiome to its normal state.

A limitation of the study is using a single very high dose of TDCF supplementation in mice, which is not representative of real life exposure by humans.

🥊 Punchline

This study suggests that our gut bacteria are very sensitive and can be influenced by toxic exposure, especially in early life. This toxic exposure can contribute to poorer health outcomes later in life.